In the best British tradition the Sussex’s have delivered a pantomime in the lead up to Christmas. We review Harry and Meghan: A pantomime for our times.
Most pantomimes will have a runtime of about 2 hours with a drinks break in the middle. This re-imagining does have the benefit that it can be paused which theatre productions can’t, so that’s a plus. However it does run over 6 episodes.of roughly an hour each, so a comfy chair, thrombosis socks and a colostomy bag are recommended.
All the usual pantomime themes are there. A beautiful princess trapped in a castle, a dashing young prince who wants to save her, and lots of baddies. In a clever twist, the baddies are mostly out to say nasty things about her rather than make her clean the kitchen floor. There is no evil dad, just a mildly semi-detached father-in-law who just can’t understand why everybody doesn’t just get on with each other and be nice.
There is a fairy godmother of sorts in the guise of Oprah Winfrey, but she’s more of an offscreen presence. Guess to they didn’t have the budget to include her.
Anyone expecting some thigh slapping (which is now totally inappropriate as it references violence), singing and dancing is going to be very disappointed. Some wags might refer to this as a ‘song and dance ‘, but they are being metaphorical.
Ultimately it is poor family entertainment and will only entertain people who go on social media to shout at other people.